NFL Draft Grades: New England Patriots

New England Patriots 2008 Draft Picks:

Round 1 (10): Jerod Mayo, ILB, Tennessee
Round 2 (62): Terrence Wheatley, CB, Colorado
Round 3 (78): Shawn Crable, OLB, Michigan
Round 3 (94): Kevin O'Connell, QB, San Diego State
Round 4 (129): Jonathan Wilhite, CB, Auburn
Round 5 (153): Matt Slater, FS, UCLA
Round 6 (197): Bo Ruud, OLB, Nebraska

The Good: Nary a mock draft had Jerod Mayo sniffing the top-10, but I'm willing to take Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli's word over a bunch of dorks who obviously spend their days "blogging" away in the mother's basements, no doubt wearing pajamas. Terrence Wheatley and Jonathan Wilhite fill obvious needs in the secondary, and some scouts feel Wheatley could evolve into a shutdown corner. Ruud adds depth at another need position, and Belichick admitted that the Patriots had been interested in him for several years.

The Bad: Third-round pick, meet quarterback Kevin O'Connell. If any other team makes this selection, it would elicit an automatic F-minus draft grade, which, if nothing else, reinforces how silly the whole day-after grading idea really is. By all accounts, O'Connell is a solid player, but quarterback doesn't seem like an immediate need, what with Matt Cassel "capably" handling the backup duties. Actually, the Boston Globe's Mike Reiss made an interesting point: maybe the Patriots' draft board dictated that O'Connell was the best player available. Some 18 CBs had already been taken, but only a handful of QBs. What's the better value? Well, for New England, it was O'Connell.

The Grade: B. I'm feeling very much like Mel Kiper with the uninspired grading scheme, but New England manipulates the draft better than any team in the league and to give them anything lower than a B would just be foolish, i think. Of course, they were accused of cheating so maybe they deserve an F.

Click here to read other Draft Grades.